The Step of Faith, Pt2.

Introduction

Last session of this series, we looked at Joshua chapter 2. The Israelites, now under the leadership of Joshua have committed to following him in whatever the Lord directs him to do. Joshua has commanded the congregation to get ready to leave because in three days they are going to cross the Jordan River. Then, he sends two men to spy out the land, specifically the city of Jericho, a well fortified city. They end up in a woman’s house named Rahab who hides them, but someone recognizes them and tells the king of Jericho that there are spies in the land.

Rahab is brought in for questioning and she tells the king that the men have left the city when in reality she has them hidden. Once they are in the clear, Rahab talks to the spies and tells them that she understands that their God is the true God. That all of Jericho knows that Israel has come to take back their land, and that everyone is afraid. However, Rahab does something that no one else in Jericho does, she asks for her and her house to be spared.

The spies give her the instructions to keep a scarlet chord in her window, the same chord with which the spies would climb down the wall to escape, and to bring any of her family members into her house. Those that would be inside when Israel attacked would be spared; anyone outside the house would perish.

And Rahab does just that. We saw that she is saved from the coming destruction. Her step of faith saved her and her father’s house, her faith gave her a new nation, a new family, and a new identity.

Today, we will look at the faith of the nation of Israel as we cover the second part of this Step of Faith

The Step of Faith, Pt. 2

Let’s pick up where we left off with the spies. Joshua 2:23-24

Joshua 2:23–24 KJV 1900

23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

The spies return to Joshua and give the news that the inhabitants of Jericho are shaking in their little boots.

And now, it is time for the Israelites to take their step of faith. Last chapter we saw the results of Rahab’s faith. Today, I hope to see the working and the results of the faith of the nation of Israel.

I want us to remember the importance of faith.

Hebrews 10:38 KJV 1900

38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Hebrews 11:6 KJV 1900

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It is impossible to live a life pleasing to God without living it by faith.

I want us to remember the definition that we have of faith:

“True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.” -Warren Wiersbe

If we do not have confident obedience to the Lord, regardless of what circumstances we are in or what consequences come our way, our lives are not pleasing to God.

True Faith Follows God

The first thing we see is that steps of faith lead us to follow God. It doesn’t get ahead of God, nor does it determine the path, it simply follows God.

Joshua 3:1–6 KJV 1900

1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; 3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. [Don’t get close to the ark, make sure you are in a place where you can focus on its leading. Joshua says, “You’ve never been here before, so make sure that you can see which way the ark is going.” 5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you. 6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

The ark of the covenant, the visible representation of the presence of God with His people, went before the nation. It had been this way for 40 years in the wilderness, and it would be not different now — God would lead the nation and the Israelites would follow. The Jordan was within view. Jericho was a mere 5 miles from the river. It was not hidden. Its location was known.

The Israelites all knew that was the destination, but the command remained, “Follow the ark. Don’t get ahead of it. Don’t go your own way. Stay with the ark’s pace. Follow the ark.”

God Exalts Faithful Leaders

Joshua, chosen by God and recognized by the people to lead the nation of Israel, is given a promise by God. Joshua 3:7

Joshua 3:7–8 KJV 1900

7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

God fulfills that after the crossing is complete. Joshua 4:14

Joshua 4:14–16 KJV 1900

14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

And here I want to quote Warren Wiersbe:

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament Chapters 3–5

Of course, to God all the glory is due, but God sees fit to magnify His servants [so] that their people might honor them (

Moses, at God’s command, had named Joshua as his successor — the one that would lead Israel after Moses’ death. When Moses died, God confirmed Joshua’s leadership, and the people of Israel acknowledged God’s choice. So, just like God had dealt with Israel under Moses’ leadership, He dealt with Israel through Joshua’s leadership.

There were times when God spoke directly to the people, but there were times like these, when the nation was to move and act collectively, that God told Joshua, and Joshua relayed it to the people.

We see this happen here, specifically with the priests, and we will see it happen again and again throughout the book of Joshua. So, God elevates Joshua, magnifies him, not so that Joshua is glorified, but so that the people will not falter in following and obeying him as their leader.

Faith Leads Us to Impossible Things

When we are led by faith, we are led to impossible tasks. If it is possible, then it doesn’t require much faith. But if we are to live by faith, then we will see God accomplish His will in highly unlikely ways and in absolutely impossible ways.

Joshua 3:9–17 KJV 1900

9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. [These men are relevant later, don’t forget about them.] 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. 14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Of all the ways they could have gotten over the river, this is the way God chose to do it. They could have built boats or rafts and ferried over. They could have constructed bridges to cross. They could have traveled up and downstream, looking for better places to cross. Joshua could have said, “Alright now, we all need to get across. I’ve got my boat, y’all figure out your situation, and we’ll meet across the river in 3 days’ time.”

No, instead, God had prepared a way. It would take faith to see this happen. Joshua first would have to have faith as he commanded the priests to go and stand in the river. And if you look at how it is written, it seems the four priest that carried the front of the ark would have had to have more faith than the ones that carried the rear of the ark, because it wasn’t until all the priests’ feet were in the water that the water formed a wall on one side to leave clear dry land to cross downstream of this miracle.

And now we can understand why the Israelites were to stand roughly 1,000 yards away from the ark, because that would allow them to see the vast expanse of dry land where they could all cross river, instead of it being a disorderly, unnecessary bunch up at the point where the ark of the covenant was.

It is a miracle. All of Israel knew they would have to cross the river at some point, but they did not know how it would be done until Joshua told them how God would accomplish this.

God’s Faithfulness Must Be Commemorated

We move in faith more and more easily because we see God’s perfect track record of faithfulness. Yet sometimes, it is easy to forget the things He has done for us. It is so easy to remember the hard times without remembering how God brought us through those times God knew that it would be an easy thing for Israel to forget as well. After all, it was this group’s parents that had forgotten God’s faithfulness in the wilderness and had refused to go into the Promised Land in the first place.

So, God gives a command.

Joshua 4:1–9 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: 5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: 6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

The Israelites were commanded to make a memorial of God making a path through the Jordan River. This would serve as a reminder to the people that experienced it in their lives, but it would also be a way for parents and grandparents to share their faith and God’s faithfulness with the coming generations.

At some point during travels, a child might see this memorial and ask his father, “Dad, what is that pile of stones for?” And the dad would then respond, “Well, back when I was your age, God brought us from wandering in the wilderness without a country to call our own into this land, Canaan land, the Promised Land. We crossed the Jordan River right there where that pile of rocks is, and we did it on dry land. God told us to follow the priests. The priests that were carrying the ark went into the river, and as soon as all four pairs of feet were in the water, God stopped the river from flowing, and the water piled up like a heap on one side, and as the rest of the water flowed its natural course, it left behind dry land so that the nation could all cross at once.”

They had a visible reminder of God’s faithfulness that could not only serve them and their memory, but it could be used to build the faith of coming generations.

Don’t Let Faith Lose Momentum

With every step of faith that the Israelites took, their faith continued to increase. With every obedience, their faith increased. It started by packing up, then they began to move out. Upon reaching the river, their faith led the priests into the overflowing Jordan. As soon as all four priests carrying the ark were in the river, God stopped the flow of it. Then, the Israelites faith increased even more and they all crossed. They had momentum. I imagine with every step, the Israelites got more and more excited and more and more willing to obey God and take Him at His word.

Look what happens at the end of Joshua 4.

Joshua 4:19–24 KJV 1900

19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: 24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.

They take the twelve stones, and just across from Jordan they make their first ever encampment in the Promised Land in a place called GILGAL.

Do you know what Gilgal means? It means a rolling wheel. This was not a stopping point for the Israelites. There was a lot of work yet to do. There would be fights to fight. Cities to build and repair. Whole nations to be confronted and destroyed. There would be battles, there would be discouragements, and this place, Gilgal, is was their start, not the end. They needed to maintain that momentum as a turning wheel has momentum if they were to be successful in their mission.

Application

So what does all this mean for us?

Well, the same principles that we have seen need to be applied in our lives.

We Must Follow God

That seems like a no-brainer. But it’s not. We understand this in our heads. In fact, I will go as far as to say that the vast majority of Christians plow through life without giving God a second glance. We have our desires, our goals, our methods. We see that God wants us to do something, and we don’t even ask how, we just go about doing whatever seems the most logical way for us.

We know it in our head, but we do not apply the principles of Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

The word acknowledge carries the meaning of “diligently knowing by experience,” not simply a mental ascent that God’s way exists. It means we ought to diligently seek to follow His direction.

This is talking about the journey, not simply the destination. In fact, a destination is not even alluded to in these verses. This is all about the steps that make up the journey — we ought not take any steps based on our understanding alone.

God in His grace may give you a certain point in your spiritual journey, but it is important to follow His route to that point. What you might think is point B may in fact be point F. When I was called to the ministry, I felt that I would one day be a pastor, but God did not take me in a direct route to being a pastor. I began to prepare for the pastorate at age 16. But at age 17, God laid the military on my heart. I began to follow that direction, thinking God wanted me to be a chaplain. But He changed my direction slightly and had me enlist in a different specialty. There, God, laid youth ministry on my heart. I got out of the Army and became a youth pastor, and from there He led us here where I am the pastor of Good News Baptist Church.

When I was 14, I was not wrong in thinking that I would be a pastor someday and that that was the direction God was leading. But I was totally ignorant of the way He would get me here. And the only reason I stand here today was because I made it a point to not just run with my first impression of things, to not live my life according to my own understanding. I made it a point, and try to do so still, to take a step back and make sure that my focus is on Jesus, not on the some waypoint.

But had I wrongly pursued being a pastor after graduating from high school and then the Bible institute, I would have probably ruined myself and some churches along the way. Be careful to follow God, even if you think there is a more direct route to where He wants you to be.

We Ought to Respect Godly Leaders

God magnified Joshua to the people so that they would fear him, respect him, follow him, and previously, in chapter 1:16-17, we saw the willingness of the people to obey and follow Joshua as long as Joshua was following God. "All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go, as long as the Lord is with you.”

Husbands and Fathers, we ought to be godly leaders of our homes and families. I ought to be a godly pastor. Ladies, you ought to be godly mothers and wives. And those that follow us ought to have respect for us more than just the fact that “God says so.” We ought to be respected and followed because we are following God.

And children and wives and church members, we ought to respect authorities set over us, especially when they are following the Lord.

We Must Be Willing to Face the Impossible

The Israelites had faced what seemed impossible to them once and ran. Now, with Joshua, they were willing to obey God and watch Him do what was impossible, to dry up the Jordan River so they could all cross it at once.

Sometimes, God calls us, whether it is through godly people or through His direct guidance, to do things we would feel are impossible. But if He is the one calling us, then we must have faith. We must be willing to get our feet wet, and trust that He will provide the ground necessary for the next step. Because sometimes following God leads us to impossible situations. But our God specializes in the impossible. However, He often does not reveal the way until we start to obey.

It would have been an easy thing for the priests to go into a dry river bed, but God waited until they all had their feet in the water before He performed the miracle. What things is God calling you to that you are waiting for the miracle before you take your first step? That is living by sight, and the just, those that have been saved, shall live by faith, not by sight.

We Must Commemorate God’s Faithfulness

What visual reminders do you have in your house that God is faithful? What visual reminders do you have to point your children to the fact that God has been faithful in your life, in your marriage, in your family? These things are powerful tools that can be used to defeat the lie that Satan is always trying to feed us that, “God is just not dependable.” But He is, and we ought to remind ourselves of it frequently.

We Must Not Lose Our Momentum

Newton’s first law of motion states that a body in motion will remain in motion at a constant speed and in a straight line unless it is acted upon by another force.

Well, it would be great if faith just remained in motion in a straight line and at a constant speed. However, there are many forces that are acting against our faith. First, our finite mind. Our sinful nature that we still possess. This world and its sinful system, and Satan. All these things fight against us in a way that we cannot afford to stop or take a break from living by faith.

Our momentum will not carry us far, so the way that we will not lose it will be by continuing to move forward, by continuing to walk by faith and not by sight.

it is like we are pedaling a bike uphill. There is no way to significantly coast uphill, we must continue to pedal or we will end up going backwards.

Don’t rest on your laurels when you have accomplished something for the Lord. Don’t ever think that you have arrived in your spiritual journey. If you are living, there are steps to take and miles to run. Only the dead have arrived.

Paul himself wrote to the Philippian church about this.

Philippians 3:13–14 KJV 1900

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We have a high calling in Jesus Christ, each of us. The same calling that Paul had, and that calling is to obey Jesus, to be a disciple, and we must ever press toward the mark of being conformed to His image.

If the Apostle Paul did not consider himself as having “arrived,” as having gotten to a point that he could just rest and not continue, then much less should we consider ourselves to have gotten to a point in our spiritual journey where we would think that we can just coast from here on out.

Invitation